The King of Kings
by TheWriterOfText
Summary: The King of Balba has died, leaving behind three sons, only one of which is fit to lead. Alibaba Saluja, the 23rd king of Balba leading his kingdom to glory but trying to stay out of the Kou Empire's devastating path. By his side his lover Kassim, but how long will Kassim be there? SLASH past Kassim/Alibaba ?/Alibaba NO MAIN OC IF ANY Noncannon (duh) Rating will probably change
1. Prologue

It had finally happened. The day that everyone had anticipated, some with apathy, most with a heavy heart, already grieving.

The King of Balba had finally died.

He had been sick for quite awhile, much to the sadness of the people, slowly getting worse, his coughs harsher and his breathing shallow. The palace had been gloomy, hushed voices had talked about the king and his condition. They whispered about his life, his accomplishments.

His family, and possible heir.

It was no secret that the most obvious choice was the first born Ahbmad, however, a sheltered and lavish life had made him spoilt. His younger brother Sahbmad was a plausible choice, but living in the shadow of his older brother had made him meek, shy, and altogether a weak leader however kind he may be. Then there was the third heir. The rumored ghost of the palace. Alibaba Saluja.

He was nothing but whispers from those in the palace. Snippets of hushed conversation that spread the rumors were never answered, so he was forgotten. But every once in awhile, someone might catch a glimpse of gold, a flash, before it disappeared.

The king had kept a tight hand over his son, his precious child with his one love. Anise. A servant so beautiful that it was said even the king fell for her charm and looks. But one day, she disappeared from the castle, never to be seen again. Only later did he find out that she had passed away while in hiding with his son. The king had held in his tears until he was alone, later that night letting them fall, before quietly sobbing into his hands. The hands she had touched and held so many times. He remembered when she had left, oh god he remembered it well.

The kind had searched for his love, he sent troops after troops for her, but they could never find her. What the kind didn't know was that she had hidden herself in the slums in shame, her stomach swollen with a child. The king's child.

Anise had hidden herself to save her lover's reputation and honor. She knew the public would not be happy to find out her child was the son of the king and herself, a lowly servant. So into the night she had run, to the lowest, dirtiest, and most disgusting part of the city. The slums. She knew that with all these people roaming, covered in dirt and rags, it would be near impossible to find her.

So she hid.

The 7 months she was pregnant on the street was hard on her. She did what odd jobs she could to try to get enough food for not only here but her unborn child. She desperately wanted to go back to her love, her king. It would be so easy to just walk up to the patrols that went down the streets looking for her, randomly checking houses. To just walk over and call their attention to herself, she just had to-

No.

She could not cause her love undue grief because of her selfishness. So she kept herself hidden, blended in with the poor, dirty people of the slums, the same people who she found herself turning into. The people had been ...accepting at first. Well maybe accepting wasn't the right word. More like; they didn't pay her any special attention, too focused on their situation to talk to her. This was fine with her. She didn't think she could handle it if people recognized her.

Eventually though, the small jobs she had been getting started to dwindle. More people started to have to live in the slums, more were out of work. So work stopped for her. She wasn't sure what was happening. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Eventually she grew to desperate, her belly was still rather unnoticeable to the average eye and the rest of her was still breathtakingly beautiful, and she had still been getting many compliments. The idea had come to her only a month or so ago, but since she still had her small jobs, she angrily pushed the disgusting idea away. To stoop so low… But alas, with no work in site and her unborn child's safety at risk with her lack of food, she swallowed her pride and started to subtly hint at the men in the slums that she was into the new… Business.

The idea itself was… disturbing, but when a certain man's eyes gleamed as he caught onto her hints, he agreed readily, his eyes leering at her as he obviously looked up and down her body. The look sent shivers down her spine, but she fought hard to keep them down.

For the baby. And for Him.

This mantra kept her going, as she performed her sickeningly sinful deeds. She did almost whatever she could to get money, and to keep them spending money. But the one thing she never did, never even thought of doing no matter the request or reward, was 'go all the way'. She would never be so disloyal to her love and she hated herself for what she was already doing.

As the months passed her belly grew larger to her joy. It meant that her child was alive and hopefully healthy. But as her 'jobs' started to dwindle due to it, she grew to despair her child's growth. Not her child, but that her stomach stretched and distorted her body's beauty to others. A husband, a loving husband, would rejoice at this. She was sure her king would be happy as well…

As she grew larger, although it seemed impossible to her, the women of the slums were so helping and generous to her. Sometimes they gave her food or would strike up a conversation. So she made many friends and earned a reputation for being very kind and friendly, something greatly missing in most of the slums.

And then the day arrived.

She had been going to the well to get some water, when all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen and a flood of liquid down her legs. It felt like the same pain that she had in the previous months, so she didn't stress too much until about half a minute later when the pain was still not gone and only seemed to be worsening. She dropped to her knees with a gasp of agony, gritting her teeth as she tried not to scream as the pain got worse. And then it stopped.

The soreness was still there and she knew from conversations with mothers in the slums that this was only the beginning. A few women passing by that she recognized vaguely spotted her and realized what was going on. The quickly, but gently, grabbed he by her arms and started to half-carry her back to her house/tent. The laid her down on the few pillows and thin blankets that they all called a bed in the slums.

Over the next few hours her agony only became worse, from feeling like she was stabbed to the equivalent of being burned alive. The pain was astronomical and she was awake for every moment. Then within the span of a few minutes of screaming and pushing, a small cry filled the tent. A sob of relief passed over her as one of the women handed her a small bundle in an old blanket. She looked down lovingly at the cute plump baby face that looked wearily at her.

"Congratulations! It's a boy!" The women who handed her the bundle said, a tired but happy smile on her face. Anise stared down at her son. Her son. The words sounded foreign to her. But the shock of blond hair and the light gray eyes that blinked at her was proof of him. The hair was definitely his. His eyes, although gray, she was sure would be his as well when they changed color eventually.

"Do you have a name picked out?" Another woman asked her. Anise touched her son's face tenderly, lovingly.

"Alibaba, his name is _Alibaba_ , the future king of kings. The one to save us all."

Of that she was certain.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Growing up in the slums had been a challenge for the most part. But it was also a blessing. While it was true half the time his belly ached in hunger and he fought a long battle to save his rations of food given to him from his mother, he was mostly a happy child. Ah, his mother…

Alibaba's mother, Anise, was such a joy in the darkness that was the slums. With half the population of the slums being criminals, it was nice to know that their family was one of the most respected. Even though his mother was a harlot, she was such a kind and beautiful woman. Often when Alibaba was starving, she would sneak her food onto his plate when she thought he wasn't looking. He knew what she was doing but since it was her decision, he didn't fight her.

She worked so hard and managed to make enough money to feed them and get them clothes and a small tent, not much to most but it was enough for Alibaba. He didn't even have his own bed, but that was alright. He just spent his night cuddled up with his mother on their thin stack of old, moth bitten blankets. And it was enough.

Alibaba kept himself pretty entertained most days, playing games with the other children in the slums or doing odd jobs to make a little money. Small things meant so much in the slums that a loaf of bread or a small apple could mean life or death for some and Alibaba worked hard to make sure that didn't happen to him or his beloved mother.

One day Alibaba had been playing with the rest of the children of the slums when he met _him_. Kassim.

Kassim had been playing the game with the rest of the children, his tiny sister following him like a shadow. Only leaving a short distance to chat with the other girls every once in awhile. Alibaba remembered that they had been playing King of the Hill with a bunch of dirty, broken sandbags and an old dresser, but it looked like so much fun that he couldn't help but jump into the game as well, a huge smile on his face.

Alibaba was no good at up front attacks though, so he found himself flat on his butt, while the other children scrambled around him to take the top. All he could do was laugh. But then Kassim had stood up, already tall appearance for his age made him seem towering. His voice was equaling as menacing as he jeered and taunted back at the children, a huge smirk on his face.

"Listen up! I am the king of this tower, ruler over all of you. If you want my spot," he paused, his smirk growing wider, "you'll have to take it from me!"

This only egged the boys in the pile on and they fought twice as hard to get to the top, Kassim easily fighting them off, keeping his balance on the desk.

Alibaba knew there was no way he would win from on so he looked for another way. A small opening where two sandbags were placed together was his answer. Surprising, or not so with all the boys, the sandbags had broken under the ones on the top, so it was only sand. Alibaba got an idea and started to quickly dig his way to the top, under all of the boys. A few times he was afraid the tunnel would collapse on top of him but the tunnel held firm. Eventually he hit the desk, the bottom was rotted away and since the drawers were open, it was hollow inside. Alibaba climbed up, thankful for his small frame and wiggled out into the top drawer. Kassim had his back turned, fighting off another boy, and Alibaba, while hesitant to do so, gave him a slight push. This sent Kassim toppling forward onto the mass of wriggling kids, landing unscathed for the most part however.

Kassim glared at whoever dared to take his throne from him and was surprised as a small blond child with gold eyes glared down at him, a fierce look in his eyes. He was captivated, the sun was shining behind the boy making his already gentle features seem angelic. Even with all the mud on his face the boy looked like he was royalty. If not for the short hair and slightly sharper facial angles, Kassim was sure he would have thought the boy was a girl.

"What's your name, Pretty Boy?" Kassim grumped out, still peeved someone took his throne. ' _Who did he think he was?'_

"The name's Alibaba! Current king of the hill." Around him, the crowd had settled down, surprised that Kassim had been beaten for the first time. After all, ever since Kassim started playing this game for the first time, nobody had ever beaten him.

"How did you get passed me, _Alibaba?_ " Kassim asked, his eyes narrowed. Alibaba gave him a grin and for a moment it left Kassim stunned with how _white_ his teeth were. How had he managed that in the slums? Most of the time, nobody had enough money for dental supplies...

"That's easy. I tunneled!" He pointed to the sandbags beneath Kassim's feet. Kassim was surprised, nobody had ever done that before. As far as he knew, nobody had even thought of that before. Seeing no digging supplies, the boy must have dug by hand, but his hands were so small! Like his sister Mario's hands. He shook his head to clear the thoughts away. He then smirked at the angelic boy.

"I like the way you think Pretty Boy, the name's Kassim." Kassim said and laughed at the blush the other boy gave at the name. Alibaba looked at him in affronted fury.

"What did you call me?!" Alibaba screeched, now only registering the name since his excitement had calmed down a bit. Kassim laughed, which only made Alibaba more angry and he tackled Kassim with a high pitched shriek that ended up with them laughing on the sandbags.

From that day, Kassim became close friends with Alibaba, and Alibaba was just happy to finally have a friend. His features normally led to jealousy and spite with the younger children so he was just happy to have someone to talk to that wasn't his mother's age or older. Especially since the older women liked to pinch his cheeks and hold him down so they could brush his hair. Geez! Did they think he was a girl or something?

Over time though, Alibaba realised that sometimes Kassim and his sister Mario, as he later found out, would show up with bruises or limps. Injuries not caused by childish roughhousing. His theory, which he had desperately hoped was wrong, was proven correct when he and his mother were out on a walk to get water and saw Kassim's father hitting him with his fist and sometimes his beer bottle with sloshed around, getting alcohol on Kassim and Mario who was cowering behind him. Kassim's father, getting fed up and becoming increasingly unsteady on his feet, left Kassim and Mario, muttering and swearing under his breath. Horrified at what she saw, Anise took Kassim and Mario back to her tent and bandaged up their cuts, despite Kassim's protest that 'he was a man' and 'he could handle it.' Anise ignored him and helped him and Mario, to which he was secretly grateful (but would never admit to). It turned out to be just in time because Kassim and Mario's father never returned. Nobody had seen him around town or even in the whole country side! It was like he vanished into thin air.

From that day on Kassim and Mario lived with Alibaba and Anise in their small tent and mountain of pillows and blankets. And for a time, Alibaba was happy despite the food being even more scarce with four people to now feed. Now his family was even larger! He was happy, until… _It_ happened.

Since the slums were just mostly tents or boxes put together to make 'houses' illnesses spread quickly. With no proper sanitation and definitely not enough medicine, the illness spread like fire and it was stopping anytime soon.

So despite their best efforts to keep themselves healthy, Anise got sick with the illness. Alibaba felt so _helpless_ for his mother who was just wasting away! He couldn't do _anything_! Alibaba and Kassim looked everywhere for a job to make money, but there was nothing. It looked like everyone had the same idea as them, and no jobs had an opening. Unless of course they went into their mother's line of 'business' but Alibaba wasn't that desperate. Not yet anyway.

And so Anise wasted away, Alibaba, Kassim, and Mario looking on helplessly. They couldn't even get close to her in fear of catching the illness themselves. One day Anise went to sleep, and didn't wake up.

Alibaba had never felt so much sadness. Never. For days, he didn't move from his mother's body, just laid curled around her, hoping beyond all hope that she would just _wake up_! But… She didn't. Eventually, Kassim moved Alibaba, dragging him out of the tent kicking and screaming.

"She's gone Ali! You can't do anything to bring her back!" Kassim yelled at Alibaba, trying to make him see, see that nothing could be done.

By this time, the royal guards had finally gotten around to doing _something._ By something, they took all the dead bodies from the slums. Took them and burnt them at the edges of the slum and the town. Once they got wind that Anise had died, they took her and just threw her body on the wagon, with all the others. Alibaba struggled against Kassim, trying to reach her and save her from those mean men but Kassim held firm, whispering apologies and sweet nothings in his ear as he sobbed on the ground when they finally took her away. It had finally become real to him, that she was gone and something inside broke.

Alibaba didn't move for days, _weeks._ In fact, he doubted he ever would, had it not been for Kassim slapping some sense into him. Quite literally. Kassim, getting fed up with Alibaba's lack of response, went straight up to him and slapped him across the face. The sharp pain brought a shocked looked on Alibaba's face. Better in Kassim's eyes than the dazed and lost look that had been on his face for weeks.

"I get that why you are sad ok?! I get it, I'm sad too and she wasn't even my mother! But everything she did was for you, every job she worked was for _you._ And you are just spitting on her grave by ruining all the work she did for you. Of saving you, of keeping you alive! SO LIVE YOU IDIOT!" Kassim yelled at him, his eyes tearing up with tears that would not fall. He wasn't a girl, and he didn't look like one like Alibaba. He had to be strong. His cheeks were red as he glared down at Alibaba's shocked form on the ground.

Alibaba's thoughts struggled to make sense of what was happening. Everything was a blur, a mess of jumbled words that didn't form a complete thought. Slowly, the world came back to him, and he realized what was happening.

"Kassim?" Alibaba asked, his voice so confused. What was happening? Why was Kassim so angry?

"I'm here you idiot. I'll always be here," inwardly, Kassim breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that Alibaba was back, was still there and mostly functioning again. Except for his brain of course. You can't exactly fix stupid…

All of a sudden, the memories (however fuzzy and blurred they were) came rushing back to Alibaba. His eyes watered for a moment as he thought of his poor, poor mother. He blinked them away, he had cried more than enough. Standing up straight, he looked at Kassim and smiled.

"I suppose we should get to work right?"

"Right."

 **/AN: Love it? Hate it? What do you guys think? Also, I apologize for my format jumping around from past to present and from POV. It doesn't really settle and moves with the characters. Just how I write. Hopefully the chapters will get longer once I get to the main story. Oh that's right. This isn't even the main story yet. That begins in the same time/place as the Anime/Manga. Also forgive me, I go by Anime most of the time. I am actually reading the manga currently. Although the Fallen part shall stay the same as in the Anime. I absolutely love that part and all the angst it contains! XD**

 **Does that make me a sadist then? For enjoying characters' pain? Either way, I don't care. I also don't care what you say in reviews. Hate it, love it, call it trash, call it the god of all's best work (HA! I wish) Either way, it's cool with me. I just hope that you enjoy it. Tata~!**


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